The way it is told there was once a great empire of men. This was in the before-time, before the ancestors. This empire was called 'the Second Republic' and it was strong enough to span a hundred star systems and to last for a hundred generations, and more. As nothing is eternal, so too did this empire grow old and pass into the histories.

In the time of chaos which followed many men tried to bring about a new empire but, these men did not respect the passing. They clung to memories of the old ways and the rights and reasons of the empire that had passed, without the body to grant substance these attempts failed.

When the universe was ready, and the people had waited in the chaos long enough a man was granted a vision. This man was a Drenjar by the name of Gudmund. And his way was to look into the far gone times, long before man travelled into the stars. A way of strength and community to bring order to the chaos. As a Dranjar he took the ancient lore of the Norse to guide him. And so the Drenjar were the first of the Vuldrok Nation.

By the time that the Drenjar had expanded their empire to include Raven, Frost, Wolf's Lament and Fingisvold they had a council of twelve Thanes, each of equal status, and half a dozen different tribes each adopting a different aspect of strong ancient Urthish cultures. The five great tribes which formed in this early period were; The Drenjar who followed Gudmund's 'Great Viking Tales'. The Lakol, who took their strength from old tales of Native American Men. The Zetol who followed traditions from an Urthish place called 'Africa and the West Indies'. The Skey who claimed ancestry to the oldest of all of the first tribes of man the 'Polynesians, Aboriginals and Mauris'. And the Maghtaw who claim guidance from an ancient urthish tribe called 'Inca'. Recently it has been argued that there is a sixth nation, the Rekgold Merchant Princes, but that is still open for debate.

Over nearly fifty generations the Vudrok Star-Nation grew and expanded. With each new star system they brought order to the chaos that they found and with each new conquest they unearthed new resources, slaves, technology, and skills. This expansion period is the golden age of the Vuldrok. It ended at Lemenkainen.

At first the system seemed a typical docile remnant of the second Republic. The exploratory raids on local shipping indicated the system was part of a small collective controlled by a weak group of farm lords called the Hawkwood. The first invasion was as swift as had been expected. Control of the Lemenkainen system was solidified quickly, then within a decade Lemenkainen was fully adopted into the Vuldrok star nation. And after only a generation the people were Vuldrok.

Dust does not settle on a well travelled road, and so the Hawkwoods returned. This time with two allies. The Windsors and the Al-Malik. The Al-Malik were known, they had abandoned Rauhina, now called Hargaard, long before we discovered it, some slaves even claimed descendancy from their ruling clans. It was the Great battle cruisers of the Windsors which changed things. Orbital bombardments flooded Lemenkainen with poisonous radiation and destroyed much of the life on the planet. Such an act was wasteful and evil. We abandoned the system soon after that. Giving rise to the popular song of Braddok the merciful, the hero who brought all of the people from the Lemekainen system into the Vuldrok star nation in 'hundreds of thousands of tiny wee boaties, he brought hundreds of thousands of wild women and hundreds of thousands of wee bairns'.

It would have been an age before the cloud of radiation had dissipated enough. All seemed lost, but one man, a man who's father had been born in the last days before the orbital bombardment of Lemenkainen, was to change all of that. Styrbiorn Firestorm, of no clan, was a common hill-farmer who had grown up in the Dragon-range mountains, in the continent of Ostmark on Hargaard. It is said he had a powerful vision and a powerful arm. Styrbiorn's quest began in those mountains, and it was to take him all the way to Frost and back before he was done.

Styrbiorn Firestorm, first had to settle the shadow rebellion on Hargaard. He did this through strength and peace, he at first conquored the slaves and then offered them peace. And so the Ramakrishna, joined the Vuldrok Star Nation as allies and a protectorate nation, in honour of our customs they took the ancient stories of the Hindu as their guide. With this alliance Styrbiorn Firestorm was able to solidify control of Haraard and speak before the council of Thanes as a Warlord.

But before he could he needed a plan. Lemenkainen was still a barren waste with some minor mineral value and a vast fleet of Windsor battlecruiser's to guard it. While meeting with a Maghtaw Thane he encountered a strange machine. This device was known by the Maghtaw, it was useless to them but for it's knowledge of mechanical things. It is said that Styrbiorn Firestorm spent a day and a night discussing with the machine philosophy and art, before it gave him it's true name and an idea. It's true name we now know was "Terraforming Engine".

Styrbiorn Firestorm was captured by the Thane of the Maghtaw but, after explaining who he was the proud thane agreed to a race, his anti was the great machine, and Styrbiorn's was Ostmark. This Thane did not expect to lose, but Styrbiorn Firestorm was a master pilot and defeated all of the challenges. After the battle the proud Thane could have renaiged on the deal, but the chance to join a great invasion eventually kept the peace. Which was well because only the Maghtaw could operate the Ancient Planet Fixing Machine.

And so the great plan was formed, though it was not until after a further decade of travel that Styrbiorn Firestorm finally returned to Hargaard. He had left with only a hundred warriors, but returned with the entire Vuldrok Star Nation behind him.

And so it was that the Vuldrok were led by a man who's grandfather had been born under Hawkwood rule. He and the free people of Lemenkainen who had been wronged embarked on a quest to return home. The system actually held little worth to the Vuldrok now but for the honour of a warlord, and the hearts of his people. With the great machine however there was the promise of a rich and fertile land, created out of the barren wasteland that the Hawkwood alliance had caused.

The war was fierce, ship to ship the Vuldrok fought the vast battleships of the Windsors. The bravery of the Vuldrok defeated the cowardly Windsors. The engine seated itself and began to fix the atmosphere. Then began the long task of colonising. All the while guarding against constant invasion from the three axis tribes; Hawkwood, Al-Malik and Windsor.

A new generation was born on Lemenkainen, and grew to manhood fighting the axis tribes. Then they came. A fleet greater in size than any seen before or since. The war for ownership was fought for a further two generations after that. Back and forth went the control. Styrbiorn Firestorm, passed beyond in a pitched battle over the continent of Valdalla.

Styrbiorn Firestorm's two eldest sons took up their father's mantle and brought a furious rage inspired by their father's spirit. The Valdalla continent they said, is the heart of the Vuldrok, and as the place of the final battle of Styrbiorn Firestorm it is likely to be remembered for generations to come.

-- "Born in fire, born in storm, born in the stars"; Martyjn the Skald